Top positive review

Pure pleasure. Hall loves his Florida. He takes the time to lovingly, lyrically describe it, without for a moment detracting from the story's pacing. It's one hell of an exciting story with a couple of big laughs thrown in for good measure. Having a senior citizen with dementia as one of the heroes is a fresh, bold move. The dangerous elements of the plot seem eerily close to today's hedlines, though the book was written months before 9-11. I loved the environmental commentary, especially at the beginning of the book. Required reading for fans of the planet.This book has such a tropical atmosphere that I have a psychic sun-burn. KUDOS!

Top critical review

I'm a huge fan of James Hall's work and have read everything he's published to date except his poetry, and I've only missed that because I can't find it. For me, his strength lies in the balance of characterizations, plot, and description--at his best his prose is truly poetic. Only a few living authors in his genre are his equal; among them I would count Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and James Burke. That these three, along with Robert Crais (another author whose works I greatly enjoy) wrote complementary reviews for the blurb of Blackwater Sound really whetted my appetite for Hall's latest, and I began it with real anticipation.One of the Hallmarks (pun fully intended) of Hall's writing is a plot in which big issues are at stake--it's not just a case of solving or preventing a murder; ecological catastrophe, grisly human experimentation or the ownership of Miami are up for grabs. Blackwater Sound is no exception, and this novel concerns an experimental weapon capable of destroying electrical systems at a distance--devastating for airplanes, banks, and in fact most of modern life. Hall's antihero Thorn comes to the rescue--in spite of the fact that in his last appearance (Red Sky at Night) he was suffering from drug-induced paralysis and a gunshot from which we were told he might not fully recover. This crisis, which was so devastating and profound for Thorn, is not even mentioned in passing in Blackwater Sound. Frankly I think we've seen enough of Thorn for a while--although I like him, he's losing his credibility unless he really is a bad-luck magnet; as one of the characters says: "the baddest luck I've ever known."But the book starts beautifully. Here are the first two sentences: "The marlin was the color of the ocean at twenty fathoms, an iridescent blue, with eerie light smoldering within its silky flesh as if its electrons had become unstable by the cold friction of the sea. A ghostly phosphorescence, a gleaming flash, its large eye unblinking as it slipped into a seam in the current, then rose toward the luminous surface where a school of tuna was pecking at the tiny larvae and crustaceans snagged on a weed line." To me, there's a sense of joy in the language that Hall conveys, and I'm captivated by writing like this.Inexplicably, though, somewhere along the way the book becomes just another thriller. As other reviewers have mentioned, there is an explosion which is not explained and very subtly set-up {actually the paperback differs from the hardback in that a few lines are added concerning it}, and which propels events in a direction they might not otherwise have taken. Thorn and the female protagonist, Alexandra, fall deeply and suddenly in love most unconvincingly since they have been deeply antagonistic towards one another. One of the minor characters who Thorn enlisted in his aid is killed and there is no fallout whatsoever--Thorn apparently never gives him another thought. And finally, the villain who had acted so coolly throughout the rest of the book comes back for revenge on Thorn with apparently no more of a plan to kill him than to outdraw him. Compare this writing from the end to those gorgeous opening sentences: "He pulled her up in his arms and held her for a moment, both of them watching as Lawton hauled the grouper up from the shallows. The old man bent down and scooped up the fish and turned around, holding up his silver prize with both hands." I do understand that writers may handle words differently at the beginnings of books than they do at the end, but where has the poetry gone, where is the evocative description? The ending seems flat to me; serviceable, but nothing special. Writing literary thrillers is certainly a special challenge and I'm grateful that Hall accepts it; but I hope for a return to his old magic in his next work.

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After taking some time off from his series character, James Hall has returned to writing about Thorn, a man who treasures his fierce independence only slightly less than his love of crusades. When last seen, Thorn was recovering from a mad doctor's unnecessary treatments, but now (without any real explanation) he is back to peak health and enjoying the mellow life of fishing, beer and beautiful women.In this story, his idyllic life is disrupted when a plane crashes while he is out at sea. It soon becomes apparent that this crash was not accidental, but is the result of a dysfunctional family and the nasty weapon they have developed. This also gets Thorn entangled with Alexandra Rafferty, the heroine of Hall's previous novel, Body Language.For Hall, one of the sharper writers in the field, this is not his best effort. Compared to past novels, his villains this time are only slightly warped and the chemistry between Thorn and Alex is relatively minimal. In addition, Thorn isn't as interesting as in the past, perhaps getting stuck in the rut of many series characters.Nonetheless, even weaker Hall is entertaining reading, and there is a lot of fun along the way. If you've never read Hall, you'd think this was pretty good crime fiction (and you'll be even happier when you read his other books). If you are a Hall fan, you should find this slightly disappointing, but still a worthwhile read.

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Long ago I read a Thorn story and promptly forgot the title. Every time I’d read a mystery with a Florida setting, I thought of Thorn. I’d question mystery experts about a guy who lives on the Keys, a real outsider who doesn’t want any ties and cares not about material things. Recently, I saw a message on the Amazon Discussion Board about “Blackwater Sound,” immediately made the connection, and ordered the book. I was not disappointed.The haunting prologue described young Andy Braswell who, attempting to attach an electronic device on a Moby Dick sized marlin, was dragged and lost at sea. Ten years later, his mother has committed suicide, his father is still obsessed with catching the marlin, and his brother and sister are emotional wrecks.The story proper opens with a horrendous crash of a commercial airliner into Blackwater Sound off Key Largo, FL. Thorn is part of the rescue operation. The crash, the sounds and the aftermath, are skillfully and almost poetically rendered by the author. I thought I had read the ultimate in crash descriptions in Andrew Klavan’s “Hunting Down Amanda,” but Mr. Hall is in a class by himself.The story is well paced and the characterizations are excellent. These are stand-alone type people. After you have read this book, you will surely agree that dysfunctional families are each different unto themselves. The technology is a little weak, but is more than made up for by the stirring battles between man and marlin. Mr. Hall’s expertise is in fishing not gadgets. Recommended.

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See storyline above.James W. Hall writes a great thriller and I also think this is one of his best.From it's dramatic opening to its satisfying conclusion, 'Blackwater Sound' paints a riveting picture of southern Florida. Thorn, a laid back individual that seems to attract trouble like a magnet attracts steel, returns in another very satisfying novel of adventure.Halls dialogue and narrative paint a vivid picture. The locales of Southern Florida along with the characters, makes this a very 'hard to put down' book.Highly recommended